Gonna Try to grow a Grass Tree

[HGO]

Found myself a Patch of Baby Grass trees (aka Black boys) that have come up Since a Bushfire
went thru the area awhile back. Anyways I very carefully extracted one of the pups from the ground as well as a
heap of the soil it was growing in. Potted it up and added some Mycorrhizae and Black strap Molasses.
According to the stuff Ive read online by doing that I have a more than 50% chance of it Surviving will now see how I go. These Things grow Verrrrry Slowwwwwwly so will understandably keep updates to the minimum.
This is one of the established Grass trees that could have dropped the seeds of the one I potted up


This is the one I replanted fingers crossed it Takes

 

[Indy]

All the best, HGO. You've certainly have a challenge on your hands. If you can pull this off you should be able to tackle most things.

 

[Clementine]

Funniest cunt hgo

Might take awhile though... I heard the "grass trees" are slow on the uptake.

 

[HGO]

Funniest Daisy Chain hgo

Might take awhile though... I heard the black boys are slow on the uptake.

a bit like yourself ... Slow on the uptake

 

[Billygoat]

you are a patient man!

I got one at my front door, but i cheated an bought it at about half a metre tall.. that was 9 years ago, it might have grown 10-20cm in that time.

 

[Clementine]

a bit like yourself ... Slow on the uptake

Yup. Tad like that sometimes...

Compliments have begun al ready. Definitely a patient bloke to be growing grass trees HGO all the best too ya.

 

[HGO]

you are a patient man!

I got one at my front door, but i cheated an bought it at about half a metre tall.. that was 9 years ago, it might have grown 10-20cm in that time.

They are bloody expensive to buy over here thought I'd be a cheapskate and dig up a freebie

 

[Billygoat]

They are bloody expensive to buy over here thought I'd be a cheapskate and dig up a freebie

dig up the mum

 

[Indy]

4 or 5 years ago i did attempt to germinate 24-30 seeds that i sourced from a local variety. Got about 50% germ rate that grew out a single blade/leaf and remained that way for a couple of seasons until they were eventually given up on.

The method i went with was a mix made up of 50% spent potting mix, and 50% sand, and a feeding schedule that only consisted of being watered once a month with a batch of sugary water. Seemed odd, but went with it anyway.

 

[HGO]

4 or 5 years ago i did attempt to germinate 24-30 seeds that i sourced from a local variety. Got about 50% germ rate that grew out a single blade/leaf and remained that way for a couple of seasons until they were eventually given up on.

The method i went with was a mix made up of 50% spent potting mix, and 50% sand, and a feeding schedule that only consisted of being watered once a month with a batch of sugary water. Seemed odd, but went with it anyway.

the sugar feeds the micro organisms that help the Roots to remain healthy
I used molasses instead of brown sugar but I'd say it should still work the same

 

[frankreynolds]

Nursery I use to work at had about 30 very old specimens usually at a time for sale, loved them. Bloody expensive, we bought them in dug out from the wild. Pretty easy to take care of once they get going, heard seedlings are very touchy.

 

[puggle6]

isn't it illegal to take them these days?

 

[frankreynolds]

I think it is, i'm not too sure about the laws surrounding them currently. I am guessing there were permits involved or something.

 

[Indy]

Yeah, from what i gathered some time back (iirc), each plant cultivated commercially comes tagged and numbered, before being released/sold. Removal of them from their natural habitat is highly illegal.

Not sure of the deal with the tag, but i'm guessing that's meant to remain with plant. Dunno how solid that ideal is because i'd imagine the plant would outlast the licensed tag.

Thank fuck we got geniuses to figure this shit out for us.

 

[Billygoat]

Yeah, definitely not legal to dig them up.

apparently they are also difficult to keep alive if you disturb them, perhaps the reason for the high price?

when i planted mine i carefully cut the bottom of the pot off and then planted in the ground in the remaining pot.

PS they are called Black Boys

 

[Porky]

Xanthorrhoea australis - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Yeah illegal to take them from the bush in NSW.
The aboriginals used em for heaps of stuff.
There is shit loads of them in the bush where we go moto riding. I’ve seen em 10ft plus and the stem as round as a 15lt paint bucket. They must be a few hundred years old to get that size.

 

[frankreynolds]

I remember we nailed the tags into the stem, that seemed to keep em there.

I think the price tag largely comes from how bloody slow they are to grow.

Those baby ones you see at bunnings for a few hundred dollars are already quite a few years old.

 

[HGO]

isn't it illegal to take them these days?

Yeh apparently it is Mate but I figure so is Growing Weed and we still do that

 

[puggle6]

Moral problem HGO is the black bastards look awesome in the bush etc and if everyone knocks them off then we all miss out on seeing them

 

[HGO]

Moral problem HGO is the black bastards look awesome in the bush etc and if everyone knocks them off then we all miss out on seeing them

Fair enough I get what ya saying as I volunteer to Plant jarrah Trees in Dieback areas of our Native forrests here every Spring and not that it technically matters in the way the Law works but in this case it was on private land that Nobody else can access without Permission ( I shoot on there occasionally) And the area is Destined to be turned into a Large water Catchment Area so it's not like I killed the thing Infact I may have saved it?? & hope to Give it Many Years of a Good life in My Garden if it takes.
It's the illegal Forrest and Native Bush clearing that's happening here that's Doing a lot more
Damage to the environment than I could do by digging up One Plant from a patch of Hundreds.
We Found a bunch of freshly cut stumps from jarrah trees last week that would have had to have been 200+Years Old. Those trees would have provided Nests for all sorts of Birds and other Wildlife
over countless generations...... Now it will be either Firewood or Bloody Wood chips